Thursday, 1 March, 2001, 19:03 GMT Farm disease reaches epidemic scale
Farmer Tom Griffith had to destroy 500 sheep
The foot-and-mouth disease has officially
spread to all parts of the United Kingdom,
destroying hopes that some areas might have
remained free from infection.
The disease has hit Scotland and Northern Ireland.
There are fears it could have crossed over to the Republic of Ireland although the Irish Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh has insisted that there are no known cases there.
With the total confirmed cases of the highly-contagious disease at 32, officials expect more cases of foot-and-mouth.
"At the moment we're looking at five or six a day and we might continue to see that number over the next week," said Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore.
But the government still believes that all the cases being discovered now can be traced back to livestock movements before the standstill imposed last Friday.
The infection is believed to have spread to the farm in South Armagh in a consignment of sheep from a market near Carlisle in Cumbria.
Click here to see map of confirmed cases
The first two cases in Scotland are both in Dumfries and Galloway and have also been linked to the outbreak in Cumbria.
Prices for British meat rose at London's key Smithfield market and there were fears of shortages as officials struggled to find a way to allow farmers to resume their suspended trade.
Events cancelled
As the foot-and-mouth outbreak tightened its grip, more major events and attractions have been cancelled or closed.
The latest event to be hit by the crisis is the Crufts Dog Show, which the Kennel Club has postponed.
The Forestry Commission closed all of its forests to the public as a precaution and nearly all National Trust sites have been closed.
Officials are considering whether to delay more fixtures in rugby's Six Nations Championship.
Saturday's match between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff has already been postponed.
Horse racing has been suspended in Britain until March 7 and the prestigious Cheltenham Festival, due to be held in two weeks, is under threat.
All horse and greyhound racing in Ireland has already been banned.
European slaughter
Fears of disease spreading have led some European countries to slaughter animals that have been imported from Britain or have been in contact with them.
British farmers have killed and burned about 15,000 cattle, sheep and pigs, while France is planning to destroy more than three times that number.
The French total of 50,000 animals to be slaughtered is nearly four times the number of animals to be culled in the UK where the outbreak was discovered.
In Germany, health officials said they were optimistic that the disease had not spread to the country, but the all-clear might only come at the end of March.
As a precaution, the government has ordered the slaughter of all sheep and goats brought into the country from Britain.
Across Europe, travellers from the UK face new checks. Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel said it would disinfect all vehicles travelling from Britain as a precaution.
Britain has enforced draconian measures to stamp out the highly infectious disease
Among them is a worldwide ban on British
livestock and animal products, which is costing
the country £8m in lost sales per week.
-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001